Senator Challenges Clean Air Act

Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, along with seven Senate peers,
introduced legislation Monday that would curtail the reach of the Clean
Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and
the Endangered Species Act.

The bill's supporters say the Environmental Protection
Agency has used legislation such as the 1970 Clean Air Act for a power
grab and is exercising authority it doesn't have. But the heart of the issue, apparently, is not that the
EPA has overstepped its mandate, but that limiting greenhouse gasses hurts
businesses. The bill
wants to overturn limits on seven controlled emissions, including nitrous oxide, sulfur hexaflouride and hydroflourocarbons and wants to prevent global warming from being considered a legitimate reason to limit emissions.

Barrasso
says Americans don't want this level of government interference: "Americans rejected cap
and trade because they know it means higher energy prices and lost
jobs," he says, "Washington agencies are now trying a backdoor approach
to regulate our climate by abusing existing laws."

Barrasso and
his co-sponsors are not alone in wanting to scale back or eliminate
limits on green house gasses--the National Association of Manufacturers,
for one, has his back. In the trade association's blog, Shopfloor, the
organization came to Barasso's side, saying

Manufacturers
are faced with tremendous uncertainty as the EPA and state permitting
authorities begin the implementation process of regulating GHG emissions
from stationary sources. Sen. Barrasso’s broad-reaching legislation is
needed to stem the tide of the EPA overreach give our nation’s job
creators the assurance they need to expand their businesses and put
Americans back to work.

However, Barrasso's bill is not without its critics, some of whom see larger things lurking behind this proposal. Here are the main objections:

Barrasso Is Denying Science
Part of the horror, Mother Jones's Kate Sheppard says, is that Barrasso, a
medical doctor, is drafting legislation that does everything but protect
an individual's health. "The EPA's decision to act on emissions under
the Clean Air Act is based on the 2007 Supreme Court directive and the
finding that greenhouse endanger human health. Barrasso says though, that he only wants regulations for greenhouse gases that pose a 'direct
threat to human health because of direct exposure to that gas'--implying, of course, that he doesn't think that most of them actually
pose a threat."

This Is Corporate Kow-Towing
Earth Justice's legislative representative Stephanie Maddin says
Monday's legislation is a clear sign that companies are influencing
policy. "Sen. Barrasso has now become the lead voice in the Senate for
the nation's biggest polluters, who continue to try to get out of
cleaning up their health-threatening air pollution," she says.

Amid the uproar, National Journal's Amy Harder points out that no matter how angry the bill may make senators or activists it won't be easily dismissed because "By narrowly focusing on the carbon
regulations, they will make it harder for Democrats and President Obama
to not negotiate."